The bitter waters of the Adriatic

The Adriatic, once called the Gulf of Venice, is an important frontier. Once it was the demarcation line between Nato and the Socialist states of Yugoslavia and Albania. Now it is a polluted, protective moat for Europe, and sometimes a watery grave for unlucky illegal migrants looking for a way into the wealthy West.

by Jean-Arnault Dérens

A SPEEDBOAT sank off the Albanian coast on 9 January this year: 21 illegal would-be immigrants drowned. Yet in fact fewer migrants risk crossing the Adriatic these days, since the drive to leave the Balkans has become less intense as the conflicts in Yugoslavia have been replaced by postwar (...)